If you're like me, chances are you can't do anything without music playing in the background. Whether it's blasting in the car, or a gentle serenade while working at the computer, music just gets me going. Without it, the silence scares me.
Anyway, last week I had one band's cover of a popular song stuck in my head, so I headed to trusty YouTube to get my fix. Well, one song turned into hours later, and now I have a new addiction.
A segment from the pop and modern British radio station BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1 Extra, The Live Lounge features well-known artists performing one song of their own and a song of another artist and genre, leaving audiences with mesmerizing covers stuck in their heads for weeks. Ever hear Kelly Clarkson curse? Me neither. But she adorably changes the "b---ch" to "y'all" in Rihanna's "Better Have My Money."
The station primarily focuses on the young adult age bracket. The show was originally hosted by Jo Whiley, though it's gone through a variety of hosts and air times since its beginning in the late 1990s. The "Live Lounge" is also an actual room separating studios at Radio 1, but due to its size performances and recordings don't usually happen there.
Many of the covers end up being crossovers and mash-ups, like Bastille covering "We Can't Stop", opening the song with the beat of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and including the chorus to Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart". Other honorable mentions include Imagine Dragons' nod to Ben King's "Stand By Me" during T. Swift's "Blank Space" and Elle King mixing The Weekend's "I Can't Feel My Face" with Nick Jonas' "Jealous."
Luckily for us, the station is broadcast internationally, and much of what's been played is available online via their website and YouTube. For your enjoyment, here are 15 Live Lounge covers you won't stop listening to.
1. Bastille covering Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop"
2. Demi Lovato covering Hozier's "Take Me to Church"
3. Imagine Dragons covering Taylor Swift's "Blank Space"
4. Thirty Seconds to Mars covering Rihanna's "Stay"
5. Arctic Monkeys' covering Drake's "Hold On, We're Going Home"
6. Usher covering Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks"
7. Ed Sheeran covering Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty"
8. Maroon 5 covering Pharrell's "Happy"
9. 5 Seconds of Summer covering Blink 182's "I Miss You"
10. The Script covering Sia's "Chandelier"
11. Elle King covering Nick Jonas' "Jealous"
12. CHVRCHES covering Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River"
13. Kelly Clarkson covering Rihanna's "Better Have My Money"
14. The Pretty Reckless covering Fall Out Boy's "Light 'Em Up"
15. Jason Derulo covering Lorde's "Royals"
Take a listen to them in a nifty pre-made playlist here. Happy listening!